Worthington's Close working on Jeter's deal

A quarter-century before he was in contentious negotiations with the New York Yankees over the future value of Derek Jeter, Casey Close was dreaming of his own major-league career.

A quarter-century before he was in contentious negotiations with the New York Yankees over the future value of Derek Jeter, Casey Close was dreaming of his own major-league career.

Close, a Worthington High School graduate, was a star at the University of Michigan when Jeter was still in grade school. In 1986, his senior year at Michigan, Close batted .440 with 19 home runs and 72 RBI. He was voted Baseball America's College Player of the Year and a first-team All-American.

"He had power but didn't have a lot of speed," said Barry Larkin, his teammate at Michigan and a future Cincinnati Reds star, "and that's about all he didn't have. He had a great arm, power and a nice bat."

Close and Larkin, who is also an Ohio native, were roommates who were united in feeling slighted by Ohio State's not recruiting them.

"That really chafed him," Larkin said. "When we played Ohio State, we had extra motivation. I remember him destroying the ball against them. We beat them up pretty good."

Larkin played 19 seasons for the Reds, but Close never rose above triple-A. An outfielder and occasional pitcher, Close was drafted in the seventh round by the Yankees in 1986 and played for three seasons at Oneonta, N.Y.; Albany/Colonie, N.Y.; and Columbus before asking for his release and moving on to Calgary, Alberta, the Seattle Mariners' top minor league team.

His career ended there after two seasons, despite his hitting .330 and .270. But Billy Beane, the Oakland A's general manager, said that when he was a scout for the team, he wanted to sign Close.

"If Casey had hung around," he said, "he would have played in the big leagues or would have been a great player in Japan. But he was ready to move on."

Looking back during an interview with Baseball America in 2007, Close said: "I went into professional baseball thinking that I was going to be a very good major league player. My contemporaries, Hal Morris or Will Clark or Rafael Palmeiro, I matched up with fine."

But he came to believe that he was better suited for college baseball.

By 1993, Close was an agent at IMG, and Jeter, the Yankees' No.1 draft pick the previous June, was the shortstop at class-A Greensboro. The Jeter family replaced his first agent, Steve Caruso, with Close.

"I was told that Casey was the son of a good friend of Derek's mother," Caruso said Wednesday, "and I have no reason to disbelieve that."

As Jeter's career has soared, Close, 47, has kept a low profile. In 1999, he defeated Yankees general manager Brian Cashman in arbitration, winning a $5 million salary for Jeter over the Yankees' offer of $3.2 million; two years later, he negotiated Jeter's 10-year, $189 million contract, which just expired.

In 2006, when IMG stopped representing team sports athletes in their on-field contract talks, Close brought his practice to Creative Artists Agency, and Jeter followed.

Now the Yankees and the 36-year-old Jeter - who is coming off a subpar season - cannot agree on what to pay him or for how many years.

Last week, Close publicly thrust himself into the debate about Jeter. In a column published Oct.21, Close told the New York Daily News that the Yankees' unwillingness to pay Jeter for his "total contribution to their franchise" was "baffling" to him.

"There's a reason the Yankees themselves have stated that Derek Jeter is their modern-day Babe Ruth," he said.

Close's remarks prompted Cashman to ratchet up the tension. Cashman told The New York Times that he had encouraged Jeter to test the free-agent market.

"We have been very honest and direct with them - meaning Derek and Casey," Cashman said. "We have made it clear to them that our primary focus is his on-the-field performance."

Sandy Montag, a former colleague of Close's at IMG, said he did not view Close's comments as posturing.

"I view them as Casey being protective of Jeter," said Montag, an IMG senior corporate vice president. "They've known each other a long time. Casey's just an honest guy protecting his friend. It's a negotiation; he and Brian are doing whatever they can do to make a deal."

Close has not responded to Cashman and declined a request to be interviewed for this story.

Close's clients include Ryan Howard, who fired a previous agent, Larry Reynolds, to sign with Close when he was still with IMG. This year, Close negotiated a five-year, $125 million extension for Howard with the Phillies.

"For Casey to do what he did, when I wasn't an unrestricted free agent, with no other teams in the bidding, was great," Howard said.

Beane, who deals with Close regularly, said: "He's so competent in his second career that you'd never expect someone that bright to have been a former player. I can say that as a former player."

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